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Accessing a Node in Recovery Mode

Recovery Mode boots the node from a rescue disk image instead of its normal disk. This gives you a working shell even when the regular OS will not boot — for example, after a botched config change, a full root disk, or a forgotten root password. This guide walks through enabling Recovery Mode, mounting the disk, performing common repairs, and exiting cleanly.

Common Issues with Recovery Mode​

IssueWhat to do
Enable Recovery Mode asks for power offThe node must be Powered Off before the rescue disk can be attached. Power off and retry.
Recovery Mode state remains "in progress"Refresh the page after a couple of minutes. If the state does not settle, contact support.
Cannot change password — prompt is not rootRun sudo -i and retry the passwd command.

When to Use Recovery Mode​

  • The node will not boot from its primary disk.
  • The disk is full and SSH/console is unresponsive.
  • You have forgotten the root password and need to reset it.
  • A bad firewall or network change has cut you off and the change must be undone from outside the running OS.

Step 1: Enable Recovery Mode​

Open Manage Nodes, locate the node, and click Actions.

Power Off the Node First​

Recovery Mode boots from a different disk, so the node must be powered off before it can be enabled. Click Power Off under Actions.

Enable Recovery Mode​

Once the node is Powered Off, open Actions again and select Enable Recovery Mode.

Click OK to confirm.

The node state will move to Recovery Mode in Progress.

When the state settles to Recovery Mode Enabled, the rescue disk is attached.

Step 2: Start the Node into Recovery​

Click Start to boot the node from the rescue disk.

When the node is Running, click Access Console.

Step 3: Boot the Rescue Environment​

On the boot menu, navigate to Troubleshooting with the arrow keys and press Enter.

Select the rescue option, such as Rescue a Rocky Linux system, and press Enter to boot the rescue environment. The exact label can vary with the rescue image currently attached by the platform.

note

If the rescue disk has been enabled but the boot menu is left untouched, the installer may offer to start a new installation. Do not continue — quit the installation and return to the rescue flow.

After quitting, the rescue environment will continue booting.

Step 4: Mount Your Disk​

When the rescue prompt appears, choose option 1 to mount your disk. Confirm by entering 1 on the next screen.

Press Enter to get the command line in the rescue environment. Your node's disk is now mounted at /mnt/sysroot.

Common Recovery Tasks​

Free Up Disk Space​

Use df -Th to verify the disk is mounted and to check usage:

df -Th

The node's primary disk (vda1) appears under /mnt/sysroot.

Browse /mnt/sysroot and delete the files you no longer need. Log files under /mnt/sysroot/var/log/ and backup directories are usually the largest consumers.

Reset the Root Password​

To change the root password, change root into the mounted disk and run passwd:

chroot /mnt/sysroot
passwd
note

Verify the prompt shows root@localhost before changing the password. If it does not, run sudo -i first — the root password must be changed as root.

Step 5: Exit and Reboot Normally​

When you are done, unmount and exit the rescue environment:

exit

Then in MyAccount:

  1. Power off the node.

  2. Open Actions and click Disable Recovery Mode.

  3. Start the node again — it will now boot from its primary disk.

  4. Confirm the node returns to Running state.

Last updated on May 19, 2026.